High Cheese

Jayson Werth, who will be a free agent after the World Series, said the Phillies will be one of the teams in consideration for his services next season and he is willing to listen to any offer the ballclub would make.

"I've obviously had the best time the last 4 years playing baseball with these guys, with these fans," the Phillies rightfielders said at a news conference this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. "The team has taken the necessary steps to create a winner. Obviously, their business is good here in Philadelphia. The fans are happy. From the economic side of the club, I would think they could sign anyone they want.

"Going forward, Philly will be one of the teams in consideration. It's a business. This is definitely not the same game I played in my grandparents' backyard as a kid. This is definitely a business."

Werth was asked if there was a scenario where he would not go through free agency, if the Phillies would make him an offer. "I'm all ears," he said. "I'm open to anything."

Werth talked about being eliminated by the Giants in the NLCS. "What just happened is so fresh and so devastating, it's hard to look past that right now, Werth said. "It was emotional, It was so unexpected. We definitely didn't see ourselves in that postion. On my drive in today, I noticed all the leaves are changing, the leaves are falling. It was the first time i noticed that. I had tunnel vision the whole time."

Werth was asked if he would conside a short-term deal to stay with the Phillies. "The economics of it, I'm not going to get in to," Werth said. "That's something we'll discuss privately with the clubs. All that stuff will be handled. If you want to talk to Scott [Boras, his agent], I'm sure he'll talk to you about it.

"Realistically speaking, it doesn't really matter what I think right now. What matters is what happens after the World Series [when he becomes a free agent]. There's no reason to rush into this."

About playing in Philly: "It definitely was a great time playing in Philadelphia. The fans would bring signs and they were great. Hopefully, we'll get to continue that here."